The New Jersey town that Sandy wiped off the map: Storm destroyed all but 300 homes - as 150,000 STILL without power

When Hurricane Sandy ripped through the East Coast two weeks ago, she left only a few hundred homes standing in the blue-collar fishing town of Highlands, New Jersey.

The storm demolished more than 1,250 of the 1,500 homes in the tiny town of 5,000 people. Buildings still standing bear the scars of 12-to-17-foot water surges and the streets remain littered with damaged boats, uprooted trees and massive piles of debris.

A majority of the tight-knit town's residents are now taking shelter in the local high school, including Highlands Mayor Frank Nolan, who said he and his family 'lost everything.'

Powerless: Edna Perez cries while explaining what her living conditions have been like since she lost power two weeks ago when Hurricane Sandy hit

Some 8.5million people lost power during Sandy, which caused widespread flooding and downed power lines

The gymnasium has become sleeping quarters and volunteers have been making three meals a day for everyone in need. In the meantime, Nolan is trying to obtain temporary shelters from the federal government so the school can reopen.

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As Highlands struggles to recover, close to 150,000 are still without power elsewhere in New Jersey and New York.

Some 8.5million people lost power during Sandy, which caused widespread flooding and downed power lines.

Burned down: Meg McLoughlin helps sort through the remains of her father's house, which burned to the ground during Hurricane Sandy, in the Breezy Point neighborhood of Queens, New York

Still powerless: As Highlands struggles to recover, close to 150,000 are still without power elsewhere in New Jersey and New York

Power problems were unresolved Sunday on New York's Long Island, where about 300
people protested on Saturday at an office of the beleaguered Long Island
Power Authority (LIPA). Around 130,000 customers still didn't have power on
Sunday.

'Each day you get a different answer
from them,' Carrie Baram, 56, said of LIPA. Monday will mark two weeks
since she's had power at her home in Baldwin Harbor, Long Island.

She
and her husband have gone to her parents' home a few times to shower,
and sent their adult children to stay with friends. They had to throw
out most of the food in their refrigerator, so they've been eating meals
out, which is getting expensive.

'It's dark, it's frightening, and it's freezing,' she said.

Evelyn Faherty hugs a friend while discussing the damage to her home

Wreckage: A volunteer surveys a pile of boats tossed ashore by Superstorm Sandy

Workers
were repairing unprecedented storm damage as fast as they can, LIPA
said. About 6,400 linemen and 3,700 tree trimmers were at work, compared
with 200 linemen on a normal day, said Chief Operating Officer Michael
Hervey.

He blamed the sparse information updates partly on outdated
technology it's in the process of updating.

'I certainly feel the frustration of customers whose power remains out. Our hearts go out to them,' said Hervey.

Phillip
Jones of Uniondale described feeling powerless, reduced to hoping each
day would be the day the power came back on. Saturday was that day.

Jones,
a parole officer, had to miss two weeks of work. He and his wife and
two children had been sleeping in one bed to try to stay warm.

Making Calls: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie takes a call from President Barack Obama while touring Hurricane Sandy damage on Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey

Most
of the rest of the power outages were in New Jersey, where residents
received a boost from kindred spirits in Louisiana, whose memories of
devastating Hurricane Katrina prompted them to send tons of relief items
north via rail in a train that arrived on Saturday, organizer Donna
O'Daniels said.

The donations came alongside
relief workers, volunteers and demolition crews who have flocked to the
region in recent days to assist with the massive cleanup.

For many, the
prospect of repairing or rebuilding damaged homes looms as a long-term
challenge.

Charlie McLoughlin, 70, surveys the damage to his home, which burned to the ground during Hurricane Sandy

Thousands of displaced New Jersey
residents are calling real estate offices, looking to rent a home or
apartment while they figure out what to do about their storm-ravaged
homes. Others are joining waiting lists at hotels filled with evacuees
and out-of-state utility workers.

'A lot of
people who don't have a home to go back to, a lot of property
destroyed,' Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey said on Sunday on CNN's State
of the Union.

'So housing is a big issue as we move forward here, to
have a place for people to call home for those who don't have other
resources or family members to stay with in the interim.'

The Flood: An aerial photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows damage to the New Jersey shoreline

The
superstorm also claimed another New York City life, police said. Albert
McSwain, 77, died Saturday from injuries he suffered when he fell in
his darkened apartment building Oct. 31. He had a head injury and had
been paralyzed. McSwain was the 43rd person in the city whose death was
related to the storm.

Fuel remained another
major question two weeks after the storm. No one knows exactly what will
happen in the coming week as commuters and businesses look for gas to
get back to work.

Lines at gas stations in New
York City remained long over the weekend after rationing was put in
place for the first time since the 1970s Arab oil embargo, but were only
a shade of the nightmare they had been in recent days.

In
New Jersey, state-imposed gas limits continued in 12 of 21 counties.
The rationing based on license plate numbers will be evaluated to see
how much longer it's needed, according to a spokesman for Gov. Chris
Christie.

Though New York and New Jersey bore
the brunt of the destruction, at its peak, the storm reached 1,000 miles
across, killed more than 100 people in 10 states, knocked out power to
8.5 million and canceled nearly 20,000 flights. More than 12 inches of
rain fell in Easton, Md., and 34 inches of snow fell in Gatlinburg,
Tenn. Damage has been estimated $50 billion, making Sandy the second
most expensive storm in U.S. history, behind Katrina.